My name is Ann Gardner and I have lived and worked happily and healthily for 34 years, on my husband’s and my farming property in south-west Victoria until October 2012, when the first only 15 turbines of the Macarthur wind farm began operation, and threw our lives and those of many others, into turmoil.

At the time of writing this letter I am suffering terribly from the infrasound emitted by the 140 turbines located FAR TOO CLOSE to our property.

I have a bad headache. I have a very strong pain shooting up through the back of my neck and into my head. I have extremely sore and blocked ears and very painful pressure in my nose. I have pressure in my jaws and my teeth. My heart is POUNDING …… I can feel the vibration going through my body, through the chair, like an electric charge. I have just taken yet another two tablets to try and alleviate the pain.

I am also exhausted, as last night, along with every other night, I spent more time awake than asleep. The infrasound in our bedroom, was appalling …… I could feel the vibration through the mattress and the pillow, like an electric charge through my body. My head felt as if a brick was on it, and the pressure and pain in my nose was extreme. I have always been a very sound sleeper, that is until October 2012. I am now lucky if I am able to get two or three hours sleep each night, in my own home.

My family’s common law right to a good night’s sleep in our own home HAS BEEN TAKEN AWAY FROM US BY AGL and THE MACARTHUR WIND FARM.

My nights are spent as above. I take at least two tablets in the middle of the night to try and get back to sleep, but most times they just don’t work. Getting up in the morning I feel wretched and reach for at least two more tablets to try and make me feel able to start my working day, with any energy at all.

My husband is severely impacted by the infrasound also, to the extent that since October 2012, we have been forced to leave our property for at least two nights of each week, which literally means three days away. We do this to try and get at least two decent nights sleep each week, and also to remove our bodies from the cumulative impact of infrasound. In your position, surely you would know what infrasound does to the human body. If not, read the link www.lowertheboom.org.au.

When we move away, which is at great cost to us and our business, our symptoms go away and we feel like normal people again. Our animals suffer, our business suffers, but we can no longer live in our own home for a whole week. What an absolute disgrace this is …… in a country such as Australia. When we return home again, after several days respite, the symptoms return immediately.

The above description is just how it is EVERYDAY. and EVERY NIGHT we spent in our home and on our property, thanks to AGL’s monster Macarthur wind farm where the turbines have been constructed far too close together, and far too close to people’s homes. Already two families have been forced to leave their homes, their jobs and their properties due to the impact of the wind farm turbine noise and infrasound/low frequency noise. Other families, like ours, are forced to leave their homes regularly for respite and to get a good night’s sleep.

THIS IS NOT RIGHT ……

So to read the AMA’s position statement released recently, we were just appalled.

It is such a disgrace to see that the AMA has allowed the wind industry to infiltrate this association, whose Mission Statement goes along the following lines –

“The AMA promotes and advances ethical behaviour by medical professionals and protects the integrity and independence of doctor/patient relationship”.

The Position Statement released literally promotes the lies and fraud which is endemic within the wind industry, and you two men, who have no doubt been elected with a responsibility and duty of care to protect the health of ALL Australians, have allowed the reputation of the AMA to fall into disrepute, by allowing the AMA to be aligned with and influenced by, the greedy wind industry.

The claims of the “nocebo” effect and “scaremongering” are just OUTRAGEOUS.

These are outright LIES and the AMA knows it.

My family did NOT EVER imagine we would be impacted in any way by this enormous wind farm developed next to our farming property. We feared the noise and vibration could possibly resonate within the walls of our shedded sheep enterprise, but not for one minute did we anticipate any problem regarding our own health.

Do you know why?

We were told by AGL that there would be no more noise than any ordinary working farm!!!!

LIES, LIES, LIES and more LIES, is what the innocent, hard working families were spun by this large Australian company, whose conduct in this district has been shocking.

We, along with so many other families CANNOT SEE the turbines, but we can certainly FEEL them.

What amazes me is that for the past year, various organisations have been “trotting” out reports claiming there are NO health impacts from wind turbines.

BUT each of these reports (bar the NHMRC’s) DO NOT HAVE AUTHORS. Why is this?

Could it be that a certain academic from a well-known university, or the Clean Energy Council, or wind developers have had a very large part in writing these shonky reports ?

First of all, we saw the release of the Victorian Health Department’s two fraudulent reports titled Wind Farms, Sound and Health. But alas, NO AUTHORS …….

Recently the NHMRC released its latest report. It did have the names of the authors, however a serious conflict o finterest has been discovered between several people involved, and the wind industry …….

Now we have the AMA Position Statement released. Again, NO AUTHOR.

No doubt, release of names of all those who participated in this appalling statement, would identify the very close involvement of the wind industry within this organisation also.

I have several questions which I would appreciate your immediate answers to please.

How many impacted victims did you interview at various wind farms around Australia ?

Why did you NOT visit the Macarthur wind farm ?

Why did you NOT interview impacted families surrounding the Macarthur wind farm?

Why did you NOT carry out multi-disciplinary research at the Macarthur wind farm?

Why did you NOT carry out HEALTH IMPACT ASSESSMENTS at the Macarthur wind farm ?

Why did you NOT carry out ANY investigation in the field at the Macarthur wind farm, when you are WELL AWARE of the preliminary health survey carried out in 2013 in this district, whereby around 23 families (around 66 people) reported various degrees of health problems associated with the turbines?

Just in case you’ve conveniently forgotten about this preliminary health survey (bearing in mind it was not truly representative of all the district, as many families have signed confidentiality agreements to host turbines for another wind farm proposal) the link is as follows –

I suggest you read it and thoroughly digest, particularly the chilling comments made by the people responding to the survey.

In line with your totally unacceptable behaviour trotting out this recent fraudulent report full of the wind industry’s lies, I suppose you condone the behaviour of AGL Energy Ltd. whereby in November 2012, they had the audacity to send a letter to the 12 medical centres in this large south-west Victorian district?

This letter literally advised all the doctors that should any of their patients present with symptoms which they attributed to the turbines at the Macarthur wind farm, there is no evidence of health impacts from wind turbines, and the doctors should advise the patients simply to go home and read the AGL website.

This action by AGL seriously breached the contract beetween doctor and patient, and caused doctors in this district to neglect their patients and simply not investigate any further their problems, not assisting their sick patients in any way.

Thus I would like your answer to my question –

Does the AMA condone AGL’s actions in trying to influence the medical practitioners in this district, thus ignoring their duty of care and responsibility to the health of their patients?

The totally irresponsible manner in which the AMA has acted, literally allowing themselves to be an advocate of the wind industry, and the behaviour of AGL in this manner, remind me of what it would be like to live in a THIRD WORLD COUNTRY, where those in authority treat the people with such contempt and shocking disregard.

I ask you, how can the AMA and its members ABUSE their duty of care to PROMOTE ETHICAL BEHAVIOUR when both the President and Vice President have allowed themselves to compromise the position of this Association whose mantle is literally DO NO HARM?

The harm your Association has caused to the hundreds of rural Australians whose health and lives have been destroyed by wind turbines, by the greed of developers, by promoting what I am of the opinion to be the corrupt actions of wind developers, is immeasurable. You, along with the wind industry, insist on denigrating innocent families who dare to speak out, in their desperate attempts to prevent further damage to their health and wellbeing.

All I can say to you is SHAME ON YOU.

Could you please inform me the name/s of those who authored this Position Statement?

I ask that you immediately REVOKE this disgraceful example of dishonesty and “spin”, and start acting in the manner which is expected of you, as leaders of such a supposed exemplary body.

Put simply, this Position Statement is ABSOLUTE RUBBISH and you two men should RESIGN immediately. You do NOT DESERVE the positions which you hold, having severely abused the privilege bestowed upon you to hold such offices.

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